FSU’s Nick Derr congratulates Jackson Lueck after his 2-run home run against UCF helping the Seminoles to a 6-4 win at Dick Howser Stadium on Tuesday, March 20, 2018.(Photo: Joe Rondone/Democrat)Buy Photo

Entering the eighth, the Seminoles led 6-1 before the Knights rallied to cut the deficit to two runs.

FSU starting pitcher Andrew Karp (4-1) threw a career-high 7.1 innings, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out 10 and issuing no walks.

"I think when you look at the ballgame, you start with Andrew Karp," FSU head coach Mike Martin said.

"That was an excellent outing, something that this ballclub really needed."

Martin is now 15 wins away from becoming college baseball's all-time winningest coach.

On the Hill

Karp -- who was tagged for seven earned runs in last week's loss at No. 2 Florida -- really only had a few mistake pitches over his entire outing against the Knights.

He allowed a solo home run in the fourth inning, but was very impressive outside of that.

After the home run, he set down 12 of the next 13 batters he faced.

"I started to find a bit of a groove as the game went on," Karp said.

"You just have to keep pressing forward."

However -- in what is becoming an all-too-common theme this year -- Karp returned to the mound an inning too many and allowed another home run in the eighth before he was pulled.

FSU turned to Gage Hutchinson -- who entered with a 10.12 earned run average -- to get the Seminoles out of the inning. He did, surrendering an additional run before he was able to end the frame.

Freshman Conor Grady retired the Knights in order in the ninth for his second save of the season.

Position Player of the Game

Left fielder Jackson Lueck has been badly in need of a breakout after his start to the regular season.

Lueck hit .318 in 2017 as a sophomore, but has not yet found his groove this season as his average sits at .213 75 at-bats into this season.

Maybe the two-run homer he delivered in the third inning against the Knights -- his third of the year and 16th of his career -- after he had two hits Sunday against Notre Dame could show strides of him turning the corner.

"I think the two hits he had against Notre Dame on Sunday were big for him," Martin said.

"When you're struggling, you get that one hit (and it can get you going)."

Third baseman Drew Mendoza's hot streak of late is also worth noting.

With a single and a double Tuesday, Mendoza now has a 13-game hit streak -- tied for the longest anyone on FSU's roster has had in their career -- and has an extra-base hit in each of the last eight games.

His .438 batting average is the best on the team by a wide margin and he is displaying on a daily basis what makes him a top 2019 MLB prospect.

Scoring Recap

FSU struck first in the third inning on Lueck's two-run bomb to right.

UCF got one back the next inning on a solo homer off the bat of left fielder Tyler Osik.

The Seminoles padded their lead with three runs on three hits in the fourth and added another run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Steven Wells Jr, making it 6-1.

Central Florida charged back with three runs in the eighth, highlighted by Rylan Thomas' seventh home run of the season, but the Knights were unable to hit their way all the way back into the game.

Quotable

"I think the fact that he was able to go out there and take care of everything from his emotions to the other club. There were some balls that were smoked and he kept his composure, kept battling."

-- Martin on Andrew Karp's outing

Up Next

The Seminoles look to make it a two-game sweep of UCF Wednesday afternoon. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. and will see the Knights throw Thad Ward (2-1, 3.48) against a to-be-announced pitcher for Florida State.